Him se yldesta andswarode; werodes wisa, wordhord onleac.
"That noblest of men answered him; the leader of the warrior band unlocked his wordhoard."

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

What to Read for Freaks and Monsters

I've had a couple of requests for my reading list for the medieval lit survey course in the Spring (ENG 4402 for the hometown crowd). I've decided to go with a "freaks and monsters" theme, so here are the primary texts. I've ordered the Penguin or Signet Classic version of each one from the bookstore -- 'cause I'm cheap. You can order a different version if the spirit moves you.

Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy (though we'll only read The Inferno, I think).

Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron.

Byock, Jesse L, trans. The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki.

Byock, Jesse L, trans. The Saga of the Volsungs.

Gerald of Wales, The History & Topography of Ireland.

Mandeville, John. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville.

Ovid, The Metamorphoses.

That's it. Because it's technically a survey course with a theme (rather than, say, a Selected Topics course), I've left out secondary works for the moment, and will probably handle them through handouts and directing you to them for research papers. I still have time to change my mind, though, so don't get too comfy.